Reaction Pathways of Standard and Fast Selective Catalytic Reduction over Cu-SSZ-39

Cu-SSZ-39 exhibits excellent hydrothermal stability and is expected to be used for NOx purification in diesel vehicles. In this work, the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) activities in the presence or absence of NO2 were tested over Cu-SSZ-39 catalysts with different Cu contents. The results showed that the NOx conversion of Cu-SSZ-39 was improved by NO2 when NO2/NOx = 0.5, especially for the catalysts with low Cu loadings. The kinetic studies showed two kinetic regimes for fast SCR from 150 to 220 °C due to a change in the rate-controlling mechanism. The activity test and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectra demonstrated that the reduction of NO mainly occurred on the Cu species in the absence of feed NO2, and when NO2/NO = 1, NO could react with NH4NO3 on the Brønsted acid sites in addition to undergoing reduction on Cu species. Thus, NO2 can promote the SCR reaction over Cu-SSZ-39 by facilitating the formation of surface nitrate species.